Forgive me for a moment.
I’ve been trying to stay out of this issue, but I need to get something off my chest.
All the hullabaloo over the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque” is a complete and total waste of time.
Before I get into the larger issues, the facts are the (again) so-called “Mosque” is not at Ground Zero but rather about 10 blocks away. The goal of the “Mosque” is actually to be an interfaith community center that, yes, has a Muslim prayer facility on the top two floors.
The bottom line? Who cares. The folks own the space. Let them build whatever they want.
Just because all of the 9/11 terrorists happened to be Muslim (extremists) doesn’t mean all Muslims are terrorists. Far from it.
If you use that logic (as others have), then that means since Timothy McVeigh is a terrorist and happens to be Christian, then all Christians are terrorist. (Sorry folks, the transitive property would apply.)
Yet, somehow, no one is making that argument.
But with all that said, the big issue to me? The fact that we’re two weeks away from the 9th anniversary of 9/11, and there’s still a hole in the ground at Ground Zero.
Issues with bureaucracy or not, the fact that there’s still a hole in the ground at Ground Zero means the terrorists have won (so far). There’s no progress. It’s not like we’re in the process of building something awesome. We’ve seen drawings and that’s it. And that was over five years ago.
Where’s the big monument? The giant “Eff You, Al Qaeda” tower?
Where’s the statement to the terrorists that we’re better than them? That our power and grace come not from sacrificing our ideals, but from shouting from the mountaintops that freedom will always reign in America.
As long as there’s still a hole in the ground, we haven’t won anything. And the increasing divisiveness in this country only makes that victory less attainable. After all, freedom isn’t free. And the First Amendment makes us earn it.
Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe you can tell me the “Ground Zero Mosque” is a big deal. But I dare you to try to convince me it’s bigger than the Ground Zero Hole.
End rant.
